lisalisabol

Q: Why SO many random DCIM Folders?  I want ONE!

I have an ipone 4s.  I have had an iPhone for over 5 years now.  Before the DCIM folder would hold 1000 pictures.  As soon as I would take another picture (ei 1001) then it would start another folder for those thousand pictures.  So by time I got into the 5000+ I had over 5 folders.  They are random (ei 851PKYZB, 851XTGOR, 914ELZYG, etc.) Last month or so when I plugged my phone into the computer to copy my photos onto my desktop I had ONE folder.  It was glorious not to have to open every folder to figure out where the newest pictures were.

 

Then today I plug my phone into my computer to copy pictures over and I now have a folder for every 100 pictures.  YES TONS and TONS of folders (55 folders to be exact) and no rhythm or reason to the numbering system.  Some with only 1 picture in them, as I delete a lot of pictures after transferring to my computer.  So when I wanted to find todays pictures I had to open over half of them to find my pictures.

 

HOW do I get it back to ONE folder?  I understand the reason there is a DCIM folder to begin with, but I really think I should be able to have 1 folder or at least have them numbered 100APPLE, 101APPLE, or something that is numeric and I know that the very last folder are the new pictures.  Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  (I have the newest iOS 8.1.2) Thanks in advance.

iOS 7.1

Posted on Dec 13, 2014 6:24 AM

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Q: Why SO many random DCIM Folders?  I want ONE!

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  • by Lawrence Finch,

    Lawrence Finch Lawrence Finch May 2, 2015 11:14 AM in response to drume
    Level 8 (38,071 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 2, 2015 11:14 AM in response to drume

    drume wrote:

     

    I can see that other tools may work better than File Explorer in Windows for the reasons you mentioned.  However, some people here are looking for a quick and easy way to access and share photos on any PC without telling your friend to install more software they may not want.

    EVERY PC since Windows 2000 has had the Camera and Scanner Wizard already installed. So there is nothing else you need to install.

  • by L3gacy304,

    L3gacy304 L3gacy304 May 4, 2015 8:41 AM in response to lisalisabol
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iPhone
    May 4, 2015 8:41 AM in response to lisalisabol

    I'm with you.. This is a pain in the A@$.. I see no reason for the iphone to do this. It's a headace and a pain to try and find the photo you're looking for. It's like playing guess the folder... Grrr Apple you say your all about simplicity.. Have you seen how you do pictures? 

  • by Lawrence Finch,

    Lawrence Finch Lawrence Finch May 4, 2015 8:42 AM in response to L3gacy304
    Level 8 (38,071 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 4, 2015 8:42 AM in response to L3gacy304

    Use the right tool and you will have no problem finding the photo you are looking for.

  • by mfhevey,

    mfhevey mfhevey May 8, 2015 12:26 AM in response to lisalisabol
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 8, 2015 12:26 AM in response to lisalisabol

    I'm impressed at the amount of discussion involved in NOT finding a solution. User wants to delete folders. User should be allowed to delete folders. Why is this so hard to comprehend? I used to be able to delete them and now I can't It seems like propriety BS. It's bad enough that the new OS upgrades occasionally leave huge amount of other data. Other phone/MP3 manufacturers have management software or allow the user to clean up. I've never understood why Apple can't go the distance and add photo management and system cleanup tools to iTunes. I guess because they will make money without doing so.

  • by Lawrence Finch,

    Lawrence Finch Lawrence Finch May 8, 2015 2:57 AM in response to mfhevey
    Level 8 (38,071 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 8, 2015 2:57 AM in response to mfhevey

    Because if you delete folders you corrupt the complex data structures managed by iOS. For the same reason you can't delete c:\windows.

  • by drume,

    drume drume May 8, 2015 2:41 PM in response to Lawrence Finch
    Level 1 (9 points)
    May 8, 2015 2:41 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

    That begs the question: Why is the "complex data structure" displayed when viewed from a PC?  After all, we aren't shown everything on the device.  We don't see other "complex data structures" underlying the IOS system.  Apple specifically implemented a system to show photos in that confusing structure.


    Apple could show to Windows a nice, pretty "Photos" folder displaying the same organization as the Photos app.  They also could make it viewable through Windows without requiring an additional installation.  They did neither.


  • by rockmyplimsoul,

    rockmyplimsoul rockmyplimsoul May 8, 2015 4:46 PM in response to drume
    Level 5 (7,170 points)
    iTunes
    May 8, 2015 4:46 PM in response to drume

    drume wrote:

     

    That begs the question: Why is the "complex data structure" displayed when viewed from a PC?

    And this begs the question:  Why are you using Windows Explorer to do the job of tools that are better suited for extracting photos?  That's like using a screwdriver to open a can of beans -- sure you can do it with some effort, but why do that instead of using a can opener? Blaming Apple for this is like blaming Del Monte for not making their cans work with screwdrivers.

     

    Apple specifically implemented a system to show photos in that confusing structure.

    I see it differently, YOU chose to see photos in a confusing structure, instead of using the tools PC users have to view and extract photos from a digital camera.

     

    Apple could show to Windows a nice, pretty "Photos" folder displaying the same organization as the Photos app.  They also could make it viewable through Windows without requiring an additional installation.  They did neither.

    Why is it their job to conform to your way of doing things the brute force way?  If you insist on using a screwdriver to open your canned goods, then learn how to use the screwdriver (i.e. let Explorer search for photos and sort the results how you please, thus ignoring the folder structure).

  • by drume,

    drume drume May 8, 2015 5:58 PM in response to rockmyplimsoul
    Level 1 (9 points)
    May 8, 2015 5:58 PM in response to rockmyplimsoul

    Nice try, but your straw-man analogy is flawed.  The can of beans I'm opening doesn't open with my standard, universal can opener.  And it opens badly with Apple's add-on to my standard can opener.

     

    This isn't rocket science, but let me try to take you through it.

     

    1. People overwhelmingly use IOS for their smartphone, not Windows.  (Android dwarfs both).
    2. People overwhelmingly use Windows for their desktop/laptop, not IOS.  (something like 91% versus 7%)
    3. People overwhelmingly use the File Explorer built into Windows to access and manage files on their PC.
    4. People overwhelmingly access their USB photo-storing devices by plugging it into the PC and opening File Explorer.
    5. Apple chose not to make their IOS devices work with built-in Windows drivers.
    6. Apple specifically spent the time and money to make a Windows driver for their IOS devices, but chose not to make it display/index the files with the same file structure as the device.

     

    Conclusion:  Apple decided not to make IOS devices and their Windows drivers friendly with how people overwhelming use their device with their PC.


    Translated into your analogy:  Apple expects me to get their can opener (or modify my can opener) to open a can from Apple, even though the overwhelming majority of people use my standard can opener to successfully open the overwhelming majority of cans.


    Yes, we know it's possible.  I provided two alternatives myself.  But we shouldn't have to bother.


  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 May 8, 2015 6:11 PM in response to drume
    Level 9 (50,786 points)
    Desktops
    May 8, 2015 6:11 PM in response to drume

    Apple expects that you will use software compatible with their services, if you do not wish to why use them at all? I am sure that Windows phones work the way you want to work.

  • by Lawrence Finch,

    Lawrence Finch Lawrence Finch May 8, 2015 6:31 PM in response to drume
    Level 8 (38,071 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 8, 2015 6:31 PM in response to drume

    You miss the point that even Microsoft doesn't think you should use Windows Explorer to manage photos. Why did they go to the trouble of creating the Camera and Scanner Wizard if Windows Explorer would do the job?

     

    Apple added new features to the camera function. Those features require a more complex data structure to work effectively. So the choice for Apple was to keep the brain-dead way it always worked so you had the choice of using any dumb tool you chose, or improve the way photos were managed. You can't have it both ways. You can't have advanced photo management that will work with primitive tools.

  • by drume,

    drume drume May 8, 2015 7:21 PM in response to Csound1
    Level 1 (9 points)
    May 8, 2015 7:21 PM in response to Csound1

    Csound1 wrote:

     

    Apple expects that you will use software compatible with their services, if you do not wish to why use them at all? I am sure that Windows phones work the way you want to work.

    Ugh, the fallacies keep coming.  Yours is called "false dilemma".

    1. Apple's Windows driver is their own software intended to be used with their devices.  Should Apple software be compatible with Apple devices?
    2. Apple does not "expect" anyone to use Apple for everything.  They might prefer it, but they don't expect it.  I already explained above how Apple mobile devices are far more popular while Windows PCs dominate the desktop/laptop market.  There is no reason why they shouldn't work well together for this simple purpose.
    3. I use an iPhone and a Windows PC because they have apps, tools, and features that a Windows phone or Mac doesn't have.  And the marketplace overwhelmingly feels the same.  (Of course, I prefer Android over either, but my wife wanted an iPhone, so that's what we got.)
  • by drume,

    drume drume May 8, 2015 7:24 PM in response to Lawrence Finch
    Level 1 (9 points)
    May 8, 2015 7:24 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

    Lawrence Finch wrote:

     

    You miss the point that even Microsoft doesn't think you should use Windows Explorer to manage photos. Why did they go to the trouble of creating the Camera and Scanner Wizard if Windows Explorer would do the job?

     

    A wizard is not a file browser or file manager.  They are different tools with different capabilities and some overlap.  How many people have ever used that wizard?  As an IT professional, I can tell you it's a very small percentage.  And by the way, the wizard is notorious for screwing things up.  The File Manager has been reliable ever since Windows got rid of the stupid Libraries (thank goodness).

     

    Lawrence Finch wrote:

     

    Apple added new features to the camera function. Those features require a more complex data structure to work effectively. So the choice for Apple was to keep the brain-dead way it always worked so you had the choice of using any dumb tool you chose, or improve the way photos were managed. You can't have it both ways. You can't have advanced photo management that will work with primitive tools.

     

    Yet another false dilemma.  If what you were saying made any sense, we'd see the confusing folders in the iPhone's Photos app, but we don't.  We see an intuitive view of all our photos in one place.


    There is no reason... none... why a similar view cannot be available from the device through Apple's driver to the Windows PC.  There is also no reason why the photos can't be managed from the PC.  It's silly to claim that the back-end structure can't easily be given an intuitive, consistent front-end view.


  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 May 8, 2015 7:24 PM in response to drume
    Level 9 (50,786 points)
    Desktops
    May 8, 2015 7:24 PM in response to drume

    drume wrote:

     

    Csound1 wrote:

     

    Apple expects that you will use software compatible with their services, if you do not wish to why use them at all? I am sure that Windows phones work the way you want to work.

    Ugh, the fallacies keep coming.  Yours is called "false dilemma".

    1. Apple's Windows driver is their own software intended to be used with their devices.  Should Apple software be compatible with Apple devices?
    2. Apple does not "expect" anyone to use Apple for everything.  They might prefer it, but they don't expect it.  I already explained above how Apple mobile devices are far more popular while Windows PCs dominate the desktop/laptop market.  There is no reason why they shouldn't work well together for this simple purpose.
    3. I use an iPhone and a Windows PC because they have apps, tools, and features that a Windows phone or Mac doesn't have.  And the marketplace overwhelmingly feels the same.  (Of course, I prefer Android over either, but my wife wanted an iPhone, so that's what we got.)

    So what, your choice is to use the wrong tool, no need to obfuscate that,

     

    How's that choice working out for you?

  • by tab1075,

    tab1075 tab1075 May 9, 2015 3:22 PM in response to rockmyplimsoul
    Level 1 (54 points)
    May 9, 2015 3:22 PM in response to rockmyplimsoul
    Why are you using Windows Explorer to do the job of tools that are better suited for extracting photos?  That's like using a screwdriver to open a can of beans -- sure you can do it with some effort, but why do that instead of using a can opener? Blaming Apple for this is like blaming Del Monte for not making their cans work with screwdrivers.

     

    I think you've got this all wrong. Users like you, csound1, and Lawrence Finch keep scolding everyone for using the "wrong tool." And the smart alec comments, such as the ones you make about screwdrivers & can openers, helps no one. You guys jump on people in this thread for coming here for help because you say we're "doing it wrong," then you guys post crap just to see yourselves type.

     

    The thing is, for years, Windows Explorer worked as the perfect tool to view and transfer photos from an iPhone to a Windows PC. That all changed with, I believe, iOS 8.1.2. That's why this thread was created. Because when Apple initiated the change, suddenly users were seeing multiple folders within the DCIM and no organization to them. Part of this, as far as I can tell, came about when they started organizing photos with the Years, Collections, and Moments views. Each folder within the DCIM corresponds to the months the photos are taken. With each folder having a randomly generated name, and all of them with the same creation date, it became difficult to find our newest photos. I say Windows Explorer is not the wrong tool because it worked well before Apple's reorganization of the Photos App. So now we'd just like to see some changes to give us the same functionality that we had before. Some of us have sent feedback and one of the things it'd be nice to see is the DCIM folders being organized in some sort of chronological order. If a new DCIM folder is created for every month we take photos, then maybe name them according to month/year.

     

    With that said, it still leaves the problem of transferring photos that have been edited. Windows Explorer does not transfer the edit data, so in those cases, one of the other options that have been suggested would need to be used. And it's great to suggest those other methods, but it doesn't help anyone here if the only thing someone comes here to say is, "You're using the wrong tool."

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 May 9, 2015 3:24 PM in response to tab1075
    Level 9 (50,786 points)
    Desktops
    May 9, 2015 3:24 PM in response to tab1075

    Do as you please.

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